"Well then," Professor Umbridge looked up at Trelawney and said, "exactly how long have you held this position?"
Professor Trelawney glared at her fiercely, folding her arms and hunching her shoulders, as if trying her best to shield herself from the damage of this crude, rude interrogation.
But after glaring for a while, Professor Trelawney seemed to realize this was actually a pretty normal question, so she said, "About sixteen years."
"That's quite some time." Professor Umbridge said, jotting a few more notes on her clipboard. "So it was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you?"
"That's right." Professor Trelawney said crisply.
Professor Umbridge made a few more notes.
"You're the great-granddaughter of the famous seer Cassandra Trelawney?" she asked, looking up.
"Cassandra Trelawney?" Ron whispered to Harry. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Because Miss Malfoy knows her." Harry replied vaguely.
Over there, Professor Umbridge's toad-like mouth stretched into an even wider smile.
"Of course, you are the great-granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney, the one people call 'the Prophet,' and you both possess the Sight, don't you?" she simpered, making a few more notes. "All right then, I wonder if you might make a little prediction for me, hmm?"
She lifted her head inquiringly, her face still plastered with that smile.
Professor Trelawney's whole body suddenly went rigid, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
"I don't understand what you mean," she said, clutching at the shawl around her neck as though she were very cold.
"I would like you to make a prophecy for me." Professor Umbridge said clearly and distinctly.
At those words, the students in the classroom were instantly riveted.
Who didn't know that once Professor Trelawney made a prophecy it meant either death or injury? Everyone was dying to spectate and see what kind of expression Professor Umbridge would have when she was foretold to die.
Would she fly into a rage? Feel insulted? Or… just take it as a joke?
Yet in Professor Trelawney's ears, these words sounded quite different.
She was furious, her thin body even trembling.
After a long moment, she said angrily, "The Celestial Eye will not track the path of your fate simply because you order it to!"
"Understood." Professor Umbridge said airily, as though she were talking about something utterly trivial.
She scribbled a few more lines on her clipboard.
"Wait…"
Professor Trelawney suddenly lifted her head, her gaze turning hazy, as though she had just unlocked some genetic limiter.
That vague, otherworldly tone returned to her voice. She stared straight at Umbridge with hollow eyes, muttering under her breath.
"That man… that man is about to return from the border between life and death, I saw it, I saw it… Disaster is coming closer and closer, lightning strikes the fountain, some black thing blots out the sky… and you, you will encounter a terrible danger!"
At this point, Professor Trelawney raised a trembling finger and pointed at Umbridge.
Professor Umbridge, however, still wore that professional fake smile, baring eight teeth that could practically qualify her as a greeter at Gringotts—if only she'd been a little better-looking.
"Well, if that's the best you can do." Professor Umbridge said with that fake smile.
She lowered her head and started scratching away at her clipboard again, writing and crossing things out for a good while.
Professor Trelawney stood rooted to the spot, blankly staring at Umbridge's seated figure, her chest heaving violently, as though she had suffered a tremendous humiliation.
"Pathetic." Ron sighed, whispering to Harry, "I don't think that pink toad knows the meaning of the word 'respect,' do you?"
"All right, Ron, this has nothing to do with us." Harry murmured. "But I do think that sometimes Professor Trelawney's predictions are pretty accurate. Do you remember when she predicted the flu? It was just like this—oh right, don't you think Umbridge really is going to be in huge danger?"
"You mean?" Ron's mouth split into a grin.
"Oh, not what you're thinking." Harry patted Ron's shoulder. "Lighten up, mate, how could I possibly attack a professor?"
"So you admit you would attack a professor, right?" Ron muttered, lips twitching.
Harry said nothing, only remarked thoughtfully, "I remember Neville's Biting Kale is growing pretty well, isn't it?"
"You mean?" Ron grinned again.
"I think your twin brothers would be very interested. I've decided to put in an order." Harry said quietly. "We could develop a few prank gadgets, maybe arrange them for some particularly annoying people."
"Good idea." Ron clapped his hands.
"Of course, I've got a few more ideas. I'll have to talk them through with the twins," Harry said.
By this time, Professor Trelawney had somehow recovered.
She walked over to Harry and Ron and jabbed a finger right at Ron's forehead.
"Let me see your diary, my dear." Her voice was quite loud. "Let me see!"
Ron had no choice but to take out his dream journal and hand it to Trelawney.
Professor Trelawney showed no regard for Ron's feelings at all. In her carryingest voice she began to relate Ron's dreams to the class, including the story about him getting an 'O' in Magic Potion Class, and the classroom instantly filled with merriment.
"I suddenly don't feel sorry for her anymore." Ron said angrily. "As the saying goes, the pitiful always have something hateful about them, and villains are punished by other villains. I reckon letting that toad torment Professor Trelawney a bit isn't such a bad thing."
Harry said nothing, just grinned maliciously.
"But I believe," Professor Trelawney's voice rang out again, "these dreams are not without basis. They signify…"
"Something ominous?" Ron cut across her, figuring that whatever she was about to say couldn't be anything good.
"No, no, not an omen of doom." Professor Trelawney said, her chin trembling. "They signify that your life is about to undergo an earth-shattering change."
"Oh, that's about the same as saying nothing." Ron rolled his eyes.
"My dear…" Professor Trelawney said mysteriously, "this Christmas, you will receive the best Christmas present of your life…"
"Really?" Ron brightened immediately.
Merlin knew, in Professor Trelawney's Divination Class, everyone else usually got various death notices; when had anyone ever gotten a prophecy like this?
As the saying goes, left eye twitch means fortune, right eye twitch means feudal superstition—Hogwarts students were the same way: predicting my death is feudal superstition, but predicting I'll get the best Christmas gift of my life?
Sorry, Professor, I admit I raised my voice a bit just now, but you really are the best Divination Class professor in Hogwarts history.
That was exactly what Ron was thinking.
"And you, my dear." Professor Trelawney suddenly turned to Harry, slipping back into that murmuring tone. "In boundless darkness, I saw… I saw the brightest star of salvation!"
Harry glanced down at himself.
Oh, so I'm the star of salvation, am I?
When class ended, Professor Umbridge was the first to leave the room.
"I think you ought to be a bit careful, Professor Trelawney." Harry warned her.
"Careful of what?" Professor Trelawney lifted her head in confusion, clearly not understanding what Harry meant.
"Oh, nothing." Harry smiled and added, "I'll be off then. Goodbye—Professor."